A volunteer event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day will see the River Roots program seek to plant more than 1,000 trees to stabilize the banks of the Wishkah River at Kurt Cobain Memorial Park, under the Young Street Bridge.

The event, which begins at 11 a.m., will aim to curb the steady erosion of the bank by the flow of the river, said Alexander Birk, outreach coordinator for the Grays Harbor Conservation District, which administers River Roots.

“We’re seeing increased levels of the erosion on that bank. Even from last year to this year there’s a huge part of that bank that has sloughed off into the river,” Birk said. “That’s why we wanted to do the first one at the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park. It’s a landmark for the city. The goal is to plant to the bank of Kurt Cobain Memorial Cobain and the adjacent properties.”

The event will be a first for River Roots, which works across the county.

“We’re always trying to do volunteer events. This is an opportunity to do one more that’s more public facing,” Birk said. “Usually when we do volunteer events, they’re out there in the sticks.”

Volunteers will plant willow cuttings. Planting in the cold means they’ll be ready to grow come the thaw, Birk said.

“We’re ordering willows. We’re going to be doing live-stake willows,” Birk said. “It’ll naturally root and create a new tree.”

Coffee and donuts will be provided for volunteers, Birk said, but neither River Roots nor anyone or anything else can control the weather, or the slimy mud of the riverbank.

“We’re trying to let volunteers know to prepare for the weather,” Birk said. “If you have boots, wear them. If you have rain gear, bring it.”

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; parking on East Second Street near the Kurt Cobain Memorial Park is recommended.

Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.